Believe in me
by Kinasume
Summary: A young girl, her trust swiped away long ago. Will a young boy be able to bring her old life back? Tree of Tranquility story, Lukai is my OC by the by, basically just Akari with a different name though. Please work with me here, I'm a Fanfic newb DD: Planning to rewrite what I already have at least over my upcoming break
1. Chapter 1: Situations

**Whew, one rewrite down, five to go. And I'm not even on break yet. Whoo ;D**  
**So basically my rewrites are just going to be adding a bit of content to what's already there so I don't ruin the storyline. And now I shut up so you can all go on reading.**

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It had been three years since I could trust anyone. Where I used to be the happiest, most social girl on the planet, it had all been changed by one person. I had truly loved him, and he had betrayed me. I thought he was the only one that I could spend my life with, and that he felt the same towards me. But when I found out he was cheating on me, not only did he break my heart, but he crushed my spirit as well.

He had been secretly going out with my best friend for a year when I found out. Neither of them told me, and why would they? They were both through with me, focused instead upon nothing but hurting me and my pride. And when I did finally find out, he came out with "Who would ever want to go out with you anyway? You're ugly, stupid, and all you ever do is talk about you and your feelings. I want more excitement!" That single, lone statement finished me off for good.

So ever since that day, I've done nothing but keep to myself. I secluded myself from my family and friends, avoiding people to the best of my abilities, and generally hiding from prying eyes. The only things that I seemed to still trust, and that I could open up to, were animals. They didn't judge you on anything but if you fed them and gave them good care.

That's why I moved to Waffle Island in the first place. I had been looking for a place to start a farm and ranch, somewhere that I could live surrounded by animals and as far away from people as physically possible. It was the first place I saw. I moved there with nothing but a few sets of clothes and a rucksack carrying a few of my belongings that I still cherished. I didn't need anything else that I originally had.

I decided I may as well meet the people so they knew who in the heck I was, and so that I wouldn't be getting even worse stares when I walked down the streets. None of them really caught my attention—a few were kind of strange, but nothing more. Some also gave things to me to use in my new lifestyle, such as tools, books, and seeds.

I never really left my ranch for any reason, except on occasion to buy more seeds or upgrade tools, and very rarely, when I actually had a decent amount of money on hand, to upgrade my house or have a new building built. I didn't see the point in leaving all that often to socialize, if they were all going to betray me anyways in one way or another. I had never regained my optimistic side.

One day, a boy with Cerulean blue hair and a flame print bandana, who's name, as I understood it, was Luke, called to me on my way past the carpenter's going home. I turned to look at him, my usual 'what in the heck do you want' look on my face. I saw him running towards me, waving, with a stupidly large grin on his face as he made his way up the dirt path.

"Hey, Lukai! You want to go get some dinner with me? I just finished my work for the day, and I don't have anything handy to eat. I'll pay," he said when he got up to me. I turned back around with a single motion from my feet, attempting to shrug him off, and continued on my way home, nose in the air. Unlike most of the folks that I had run into thusfar, he didn't give up as easily as I had hoped.

"Hey, c'mon! It'll be fun! Eating's always better when you have others to share it with," he said, running back in front of me, blocking my way. First I moved to my right slightly, eyes open just enough to see in front of me, prepared to walk around the nuisance of a guy. He quickly caught on to my plan, and moved to his left to block my path once more. I shot him a glare, and went to my own left, trying the same method. Once again, I was cut off by yellow eyes, watching me hopefully. I sighed, and my head drooped. Looked like there was no way around it.

"Fine. Just keep in mind I'm not the talkative type," I grumbled quietly, looking away unhappily.

"Yeah! That's the spirit! Meet at the Sundae Inn at six!" he exclaimed, giving the air a punch before running off back towards the carpenter's. I looked at my watch, and sighed once more. 5:30. I had half an hour.

This was the exact type of situation that I liked to avoid. People had managed to figure out ways to get on my nerves quite easily since my incident; the hyper talkative types in particular.

When I got to the Inn, Luke was nowhere in sight, inside or out. I leaned against the fence outside for a few minutes, watching the sky, trying to figure out the best method of going through this.

_Eat, answer any questions he has, leave. _Seemed like a good enough plan to me.

When Luke finally arrived, he was waving and thanking me for coming. "The way you were acting back there, I was afraid you wouldn't show," he said, beaming. "Glad you made it." I facepalmed internally. _He was afraid that I wouldn't show, and yet _he's_ the one that shows up late? Real smooth, kid. Real smooth. _I followed him into the inn, sitting down at the table that I noticed he had chosen.

That guy is like an automatic twenty-questions machine. He practically forced me into telling him about myself, how old I was, where I had come from, even my favorite color, by doing nothing but begging in an exceedingly annoying fashion, when I knew full well that I had previously told him that I was not a talkative person. I felt as if something had swiped the words out of me. By the time I got home, I was ready to pass out.

_He was nice enough to not bother me about what I didn't want to talk about, though, _I thought as I laid on my bed, my arm over my eyes to block out the light.

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**Eeyup, there's that. Going to be getting down to my chapter two rewrite soon with any luck. I'm also hoping to FINALLY update the actual story itself and add in some new chapters when I finish the rewrites, so keep yourselves posted!**


	2. Chapter 2: Annoyances

**Two rewrites down, both of which before vacation even started. This one's even being done at school, because apparently I'm extremely fast at writing long complicated papers for english about books that don't necessarily have particularly happy topics. So anyways, here we are.**

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I awoke the next morning feeling refreshed… but something seemed to be different. I couldn't tell what it was—I was still my regular, avoid-all-things-social self, it's not like that Luke kid had managed to chip that in any way, or even dent it for that matter.

I looked around my house. No difference there, nothing out of place, broken, or anything. My vision was still the same. I didn't smell anything odd either.

Or hear.

Or feel.

Or taste.

I shrugged it off, and began preparing for my day. After shoving a couple of pieces of bread and jam into my mouth, I grabbed my milker and brush, the seeds I had bought the day before, my hoe, and my watering can, and made my way outside to begin my work for the day.

After letting the animals out, milking my cow, and planting and watering my summer crops, I went to Caramel Falls to meditate for awhile. I wanted to figure out what the odd feeling was, but as I figured I probably wouldn't get very far with that, I decided that I would instead try clearing my mind a little and see if that made it go away. I arrived in the small clearing, crossing over the small stretch of grass before pausing at the beginning of the rock path. I looked at the sky for a moment, before walking to the privacy of under the falls.

_Summer. Bleh. I can't wait for the first rainy day._

After meditating for an hour or so and nibbling at a small cheese sandwich I had brought along for lunch, I decided I should probably buy some more feed for my chickens. They were running low. I left my house and began my trip to Brownie Ranch.

Again, the feeling. It had gone while I was meditating, and now it was back. I was only about half way to Brownie ranch, and I heard the same excited voice call to me. I turned, none too happy about what I felt was coming on, and prepared to see Luke running towards me, waving ecstatically like the day before.

My suspicions were correct. Up ran the Sapphire Blue haired boy, the same silly grin on his face.

"Hey, Lukai, how's it goin'?" he asked.

_Kill me._

I shrugged. Who said I had to vocalize myself? I have my own life, my own priorities. I don't need to tell others how I'm feeling.

"I noticed you've been looking tired a lot lately. I thought… I thought I'd give you this. It helps restore some stamina." He handed me a herb. "See ya!" he called, already halfway back to the carpentry.

I facepalmed. Hard. Looking at the herb, I thought, _I'm always like this. How can he not realize that after I've lived here for over a year?_ I sighed, shaking my head and dropping the herb into my rucksack before stepping off.

I continued to Brownie Ranch, bought the feed, and went home. Or, almost home. I got the same feeling that I had before as I passed the carpenter's. It made me stop to think.

_What is this? What am I feeling? And why am I feeling it?_

I looked around, trying to figure out what it was. Then my eyes hit the carpentry building itself. It was something about that Luke guy. I knew it, it had to be. I wasn't sure what, but I knew it involved him.

Somehow.

I walked back to my ranch, still pondering the thought.

_Why me? Why must I be plagued with these unknown feelings? Haven't I been through enough already to deserve a non-complicated life that doesn't involve any mysteries to figure out? I'm not friggin' Sherlock Holmes!_

I nearly threw the chicken feed on the ground when I got back, I was so pissed at my own life. I put the feed away, put my animals back inside, went into my house, and began crying at my own self-pity, leaning against the door.

**POV Change: Luke**

I thought about Lukai all the way back to the carpentry and then some. She always seemed so depressed. I hoped she just wasn't getting enough sleep or something, and a little something to raise her stamina would help.

There was something about her that intrigued me. It wasn't anything about how she looked, that was for sure—I knew far prettier people practically my whole life. But something about Lukai was special. Maybe it was just that she seemed to need someone by her side to help her through things.

I made it through most of the day without thinking about it. But when it came time to head off to sleep, the thoughts of her came back. I lay on my bed, sprawled out far more than usual, and stared at the ceiling.

_Whenever I talk to her, or even see her, her eyes look so dead and lifeless. I wish I could make her a bit more… lively._

I spent the next two hours trying to figure out a way to get her to open up or something. I had little success. Sighing, I turned on my side, stared at the wall for a short while longer, and went to sleep.

**POV Change: Lukai**

After I figured out that Luke was causing the odd feelings, I started trying to avoid the carpentry as much as possible. If I needed to get to Brownie Ranch, I went through Maple Lake District to get to Ganache Mine District, instead of simply walking through the root Luke chopped down last year. If I needed something built or get new furniture, I made sure to go to the carpentry after 10 when Luke would be gone.

Unfortunately, my ingenious plans failed. Luke started coming to my house after a week.

One day, he asked me to go to the firefly festival with him. I was in the process of weeding my fields, certainly not at my most alert, and absentmindedly agreed. It was two hours later that I remembered you go to festivals such as this with the one you liked.

I facepalmed. _Why am I such an idiot? _

When the festival came, I sped through my daily chores, and spent nearly the whole day afterwards meditating at Caramel Falls. I figured I might as well, since that's where he asked me to meet him anyways. Plus I needed to have as clear a mind as possible when he showed up and started babbling on like an imbecile.

Fairly late, I heard footsteps approaching, brushing through the grass stretch at the mouth of the clearing. "Darn, I guess she's not here yet." I heard Luke's voice say.

"You sure about that?" I called from under the waterfall. I heard him come jogging up the path to look for me. He was met with a sideward glare from only one eye, my typical greeting when someone came up and interrupted me whilst I meditated.

"Hey! Thanks for waiting then. Why don't we sit on the grass?" he asked, smiling. I sighed, ended my meditation, and went out into the open with him.

The fireflies had already started by the time we got out from under the falls. I had to admit, even though I accidentally came with Luke, the fireflies were beautiful. The two of us slowly made our way to sit on the grass.

When the fireflies stopped, I was laying on my back, watching the stars. "Umm, Lukai…?" I heard Luke mumble from beside me.

"Hmm?" I replied.

"Is something wrong? You always seem so… down. I was wondering if maybe, if something was bugging you… maybe I could help?" He finally blurted out.

I sat up, pondering the idea for a moment of explaining everything that had happened to me before coming here to him. I really did not want to, in fact it was the last thing that I wanted to happen. From the corner of my eye, I noticed he was looking at me, a rather concerned look on his face. I turned my head away so as to avoid his face distracting me from my thinking process.

Of course, he just kept going at it, instead of leaving me be like I had wanted. I felt his fingers tentatively touch my exposed forearm, and I flinched slightly. I did not like the way this was going.

After a few moments like that, with Luke having no success in getting me to talk, he gently grabbed my arm and tried pulling it over to his side. At that point, my patience running thin, I swung my arm away from him and placed it firmly back on the ground at my side, horribly annoyed with this guy. He couldn't even respect that I had something going on that I might not want to talk about, and that I needed to contemplate for a moment on whether or not I wanted to speak of it.

"…Sorry…" I heard him mumble.

_Well the apology is a plus. But I'm still not really sure that I want to go through talking about all of that, let alone to an excitable kid that doesn't appear to have much respect for anyone else's feelings, nor their personal space._

I sighed, and figuring that might be the end of it, stood up, beginning to walk away from the entire situation and simply go back home. Once again, my arm was grabbed, but this time it was in a manner to hold me back.

"Wait, Lukai! …Please." I looked back at him, and my free hand forms a fist, unhappy still with the situation. I rolled my eyes a little too excitedly, the rest of my head going with them.

"Ugh, fine," I said, flopping myself back onto the ground. "Can you at least give me some time though? It's not exactly the sort of thing that you can just talk lightly over," I told him.

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure… sorry," he muttered.

We stayed like that for a rather long while, and I thought about how to start whilst watching the moon slowly rise above the mountain.

"Well…" I started, my voice softer and not nearly as harsh as I usually keep it with people. "…it's a bit of a long story."

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**I even added in a bit of extra for you all this time! Not that I hadn't meant to do that with the last chapter too, it just didn't end up happening then. Hopefully I'll be able to do a bit more of this sort of a thing in the next chapter. Well, I'll let you all be off now.**

I awoke the next morning feeling refreshed… but something seemed to be different. I couldn't tell what it was—I was still my regular, avoid-all-things-social self, it's not like that Luke kid had managed to chip that in any way, or even dent it for that matter.

I looked around my house. No difference there, nothing out of place, broken, or anything. My vision was still the same. I didn't smell anything odd either.

Or hear.

Or feel.

Or taste.

I shrugged it off, and began preparing for my day. After shoving a couple of pieces of bread and jam into my mouth, I grabbed my milker and brush, the seeds I had bought the day before, my hoe, and my watering can, and made my way outside to begin my work for the day.

After letting the animals out, milking my cow, and planting and watering my summer crops, I went to Caramel Falls to meditate for awhile. I wanted to figure out what the odd feeling was, but as I figured I probably wouldn't get very far with that, I decided that I would instead try clearing my mind a little and see if that made it go away. I arrived in the small clearing, crossing over the small stretch of grass before pausing at the beginning of the rock path. I looked at the sky for a moment, before walking to the privacy of under the falls.

_Summer. Bleh. I can't wait for the first rainy day._

After meditating for an hour or so and nibbling at a small cheese sandwich I had brought along for lunch, I decided I should probably buy some more feed for my chickens. They were running low. I left my house and began my trip to Brownie Ranch.

Again, the feeling. It had gone while I was meditating, and now it was back. I was only about half way to Brownie ranch, and I heard the same excited voice call to me. I turned, none too happy about what I felt was coming on, and prepared to see Luke running towards me, waving ecstatically like the day before.

My suspicions were correct. Up ran the Sapphire Blue haired boy, the same silly grin on his face.

"Hey, Lukai, how's it goin'?" he asked.

_Kill me._

I shrugged. Who said I had to vocalize myself? I have my own life, my own priorities. I don't need to tell others how I'm feeling.

"I noticed you've been looking tired a lot lately. I thought… I thought I'd give you this. It helps restore some stamina." He handed me a herb. "See ya!" he called, already halfway back to the carpentry.

I facepalmed. Hard. Looking at the herb, I thought, _I'm always like this. How can he not realize that after I've lived here for over a year?_ I sighed, shaking my head and dropping the herb into my rucksack before stepping off.

I continued to Brownie Ranch, bought the feed, and went home. Or, almost home. I got the same feeling that I had before as I passed the carpenter's. It made me stop to think.

_What is this? What am I feeling? And why am I feeling it?_

I looked around, trying to figure out what it was. Then my eyes hit the carpentry building itself. It was something about that Luke guy. I knew it, it had to be. I wasn't sure what, but I knew it involved him.

Somehow.

I walked back to my ranch, still pondering the thought.

_Why me? Why must I be plagued with these unknown feelings? Haven't I been through enough already to deserve a non-complicated life that doesn't involve any mysteries to figure out? I'm not friggin' Sherlock Holmes!_

I nearly threw the chicken feed on the ground when I got back, I was so pissed at my own life. I put the feed away, put my animals back inside, went into my house, and began crying at my own self-pity, leaning against the door.

**POV Change: Luke**

I thought about Lukai all the way back to the carpentry and then some. She always seemed so depressed. I hoped she just wasn't getting enough sleep or something, and a little something to raise her stamina would help.

There was something about her that intrigued me. It wasn't anything about how she looked, that was for sure—I knew far prettier people practically my whole life. But something about Lukai was special. Maybe it was just that she seemed to need someone by her side to help her through things.

I made it through most of the day without thinking about it. But when it came time to head off to sleep, the thoughts of her came back. I lay on my bed, sprawled out far more than usual, and stared at the ceiling.

_Whenever I talk to her, or even see her, her eyes look so dead and lifeless. I wish I could make her a bit more… lively._

I spent the next two hours trying to figure out a way to get her to open up or something. I had little success. Sighing, I turned on my side, stared at the wall for a short while longer, and went to sleep.

**POV Change: Lukai**

After I figured out that Luke was causing the odd feelings, I started trying to avoid the carpentry as much as possible. If I needed to get to Brownie Ranch, I went through Maple Lake District to get to Ganache Mine District, instead of simply walking through the root Luke chopped down last year. If I needed something built or get new furniture, I made sure to go to the carpentry after 10 when Luke would be gone.

Unfortunately, my ingenious plans failed. Luke started coming to my house after a week.

One day, he asked me to go to the firefly festival with him. I was in the process of weeding my fields, certainly not at my most alert, and absentmindedly agreed. It was two hours later that I remembered you go to festivals such as this with the one you liked.

I facepalmed. _Why am I such an idiot? _

When the festival came, I sped through my daily chores, and spent nearly the whole day afterwards meditating at Caramel Falls. I figured I might as well, since that's where he asked me to meet him anyways. Plus I needed to have as clear a mind as possible when he showed up and started babbling on like an imbecile.

Fairly late, I heard footsteps approaching, brushing through the grass stretch at the mouth of the clearing. "Darn, I guess she's not here yet." I heard Luke's voice say.

"You sure about that?" I called from under the waterfall. I heard him come jogging up the path to look for me. He was met with a sideward glare from only one eye, my typical greeting when someone came up and interrupted me whilst I meditated.

"Hey! Thanks for waiting then. Why don't we sit on the grass?" he asked, smiling. I sighed, ended my meditation, and went out into the open with him.

The fireflies had already started by the time we got out from under the falls. I had to admit, even though I accidentally came with Luke, the fireflies were beautiful. The two of us slowly made our way to sit on the grass.

When the fireflies stopped, I was laying on my back, watching the stars. "Umm, Lukai…?" I heard Luke mumble from beside me.

"Hmm?" I replied.

"Is something wrong? You always seem so… down. I was wondering if maybe, if something was bugging you… maybe I could help?" He finally blurted out.

I sat up, pondering the idea for a moment of explaining everything that had happened to me before coming here to him. I really did not want to, in fact it was the last thing that I wanted to happen. From the corner of my eye, I noticed he was looking at me, a rather concerned look on his face. I turned my head away so as to avoid his face distracting me from my thinking process.

Of course, he just kept going at it, instead of leaving me be like I had wanted. I felt his fingers tentatively touch my exposed forearm, and I flinched slightly. I did not like the way this was going.

After a few moments like that, with Luke having no success in getting me to talk, he gently grabbed my arm and tried pulling it over to his side. At that point, my patience running thin, I swung my arm away from him and placed it firmly back on the ground at my side, horribly annoyed with this guy. He couldn't even respect that I had something going on that I might not want to talk about, and that I needed to contemplate for a moment on whether or not I wanted to speak of it.

"…Sorry…" I heard him mumble.

_Well the apology is a plus. But I'm still not really sure that I want to go through talking about all of that, let alone to an excitable kid that doesn't appear to have much respect for anyone else's feelings, nor their personal space._

I sighed, and figuring that might be the end of it, stood up, beginning to walk away from the entire situation and simply go back home. Once again, my arm was grabbed, but this time it was in a manner to hold me back.

"Wait, Lukai! …Please." I looked back at him, and my free hand forms a fist, unhappy still with the situation. I rolled my eyes a little too excitedly, the rest of my head going with them.

"Ugh, fine," I said, flopping myself back onto the ground. "Can you at least give me some time though? It's not exactly the sort of thing that you can just talk lightly over," I told him.

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure… sorry," he muttered.

We stayed like that for a rather long while, and I thought about how to start whilst watching the moon slowly rise above the mountain.

"Well…" I started, my voice softer and not nearly as harsh as I usually keep it with people. "…it's a bit of a long story."

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**Lolwut. I love it when things don't save properly.**  
**Aka I hate it so much.**  
**Well anyways.**  
**I'll let you all go off on your own ways, happy reading!**


	3. Chapter 3: Confessions

**Hey guys ^^ Not much to say here in this one. Enjoy the chapter.**

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Luke was silent for a minute or two. Then he gently placed one gloved hand upon my own. "Talk to me," he said. I closed my eyes, feeling tears welling up. _Calm down. Don't let him see you cry._

I didn't want to tell Luke, but I figured if I didn't he'd just keep pressing me until it all spilled out at once.

I felt him scoot closer to me. It didn't help the scenario at all. To add to the problems, he put his arms around me. That broke it. The tears started dripping down my face. At least I wasn't breathing awkwardly. Yet.

"Well…" I started, my voice shaking. "You can wait until you're a bit calmer if you'd like, Lukai." Luke said. I only nodded, unable to get any words out. He rested his head on my shoulder, awaiting my story.

After a few minutes, I started again.

"A few years ago… before I moved here, there was a guy that I'd had a crush on for 2 years. I could never build up the courage to ask him out though. The day that he asked me out was like a dream come true. I felt that we loved each other with all our hearts—I certainly did him—and that we'd be able to make a life together. Heh, there was one festival that he gave me a card that read, 'You're the only woman I have ever, or ever will, love.' I thought we were truly happy…"

I trailed off at that point, unable to finish. Luke squeezed me slightly, showing that he was there and had my sympathy. Not what I wanted.

_You're weak, Lukai. Drawing on others for sympathy and strength. You should be through with this!_

I shook the thoughts out of my head, took a deep breath, and continued. "About a year later, I was walking over to his house to hang out with him, and there, on his porch, before my eyes… He and my best friend… were kissing. I think I was carrying something when I was going there, but it was on the ground when I saw that. Then, when they noticed I had arrived, they both smirked at me, and continued. I started running, I didn't care where—I ended up at the café until they closed. By then I had calmed a little, and I went back home, but he was waiting for me in front of my door. He blocked the door, and told me all the reasons he despised having me as a girlfriend, and why my friend was so much better. I don't think he was even a quarter of the way through his speech when I punched him, shoved him out of the way, and ran into my house crying again. Ever since… I've been as you know me."

The tears were rolling down my face at this point, and Luke was hugging me tightly. "I'm so sorry, Lukai…" he mumbled. I slowly moved my hands to grab his arms, and pull them closer to me. Somewhere in the back of my mind, something said Luke had brought me exactly what I'd needed for the past 3 years.

"Lukai… c-can you do me a favor?" Luke whispered. After a few minutes, I replied with the response of, "Depends what the favor is."

"Can… can you try to open up a bit more? I don't care if it's to everyone, or just me, or whoever—just open up…" A nod was all I could get out. I felt that I could trust Luke, if only with a small part of me.

We fell asleep together like that at the foot of the falls. I woke up before Luke did.

_Well, this proves that certainly was no dream._ I thought, on my side, Luke on his side behind me, with his arms still around me. A small part of me had missed the feeling of being loved all those years without it—it was something that felt familiar. But the rest of me knew I shouldn't put too much trust into this boy—it could turn ugly.

The sun was just peeking up over the cliff, and it made the falls sparkle the color of caramel. _Well, I guess that's how they get their name._

Luke began to stir behind me. I pretended I was still asleep, curious as to what he would do.

He yawned, stretched, and then sat up. It seemed like we were sitting there for an hour, and he finally stroked my face lightly with his fingertips, brushing the hair out of the way. I assume he sat there staring at me for awhile longer, before finally, a small nudge came to my arm.

"C'mon, I know you're faking it. I'm skilled in the art of detecting a fake sleeper." I heard him say, amusement in his voice. To check and make sure, I didn't move.

I heard him stand up and walk to the patch of grass in front of me. "C'mon, Lukai, get up," he said gently. I opened my eyes groggily, as if I had only just awoken.

"What do you want? Just let me sleep," I said, rolling over to my other side.

Luke laughed slightly at that, and then pushed me lightly on the shoulder. "Seriously, we should get going. Among other things, you have a farm to take care of, don't you?"

I smiled slightly, then sat up. "Yeah, I guess you're right." I said. I stretched, yawned, cracked my back a little, then stood up.

Luke walked over to hug me, and I turned and glared at him.

"Don't push your luck. Last night was an exception." I said between clenched teeth. He pulled away and nodded quickly, obviously getting the point.

We parted at my door. Neither one of us really looked to be hurt by the idea of leaving each other. Although, just before we parted… that feeling was back. I remembered it from somewhere—it wasn't love, or care, or anything cheesy like that. But… I knew it. I just didn't know what it was.

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**Sorry, more epic shortness. I tend to get massive writer's block if I don't start a new chapter early 3**

**But anyways, feel free to review, and thanks for reading! More chapters will be on the way! ^^  
**


	4. Chapter 4: Memories

**Hey guys, sorry this one took so long to get out... First off, my computer had a bunch of problems and was in the shop for a good 2 weeks, secondly, where as I did get my own computer for my birthday, I didn't get Microsoft Word or anything like that, and thirdly, I've had an error keeping me from publishing things for the last week. x_x And to add to the problems, I had some huge writer's block for awhile. But anyways, enjoy chapter 4 ^^**

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After that day's work, I lay on my bed for awhile, staring at the ceiling. I tried thinking of what that feeling was. Nothing came to mind. Then I tried thinking of where I'd felt it before. The first time I could remember was when I woke up after having dinner with Luke. I even tried going through different emotions to figure it out.

_Happiness? No… Not sadness… Pleasure? Nope… Hate? Anger? No, no… Friendliness? Not at all… Ugh. I give up._

With that, I flailed myself across the bed, and went to sleep.

The next morning, I sped through my chores for the day, hoping to be finished as soon as possible. When I finally did finish, I went rummaging through what little I had brought with me when I moved (aka the stuff my parents forced upon me via mail), in the lone box that remained untouched since.

Finally, I hit the bottom of the box—and there it was. Face up at the bottom, was a black hard-cover book. My favorite book ever.

My sketchbook.

I found the pencils included in my small, wooden, beautifully finished box beside it. I snatched the two from the cardboard box, and went outside. I looked around my farm for a good tree; finding one, I tossed the sketchbook and pencil box in my rucksack, and climbed.

Finding a comfortable position, I removed my sketchbook from my bag, and opened to the first page. An old drawing, from when I was about 12. It was of a small pine tree I had in my back yard as a child. It wasn't a great drawing, but I'd managed to catch some key details, such as how the branches grew and such.

The next page was from a year or so later; it was of my pet rabbit, whom we had to give back to the shelter when she got sick. Darned medical bills, with all their expensiveness. I stared at the picture for awhile. She was so cute. She was a white rabbit with a black stripe going from her nose, over her head and back to the top of what little tail she had. Then she had small flecks of black and gray on her sides; no wonder we had named her Ashy. A few tears welled up as I remembered her. I wiped them away before they could fall on the drawing, and turned the page.

I looked through a few more pictures from when I was in my drawing phase, then came to the time from when I was dumped. I hadn't taken it well; there were scribbles on some pages, death threats on others, the occasional suicide wish, some pages crumpled, some ripped. A few were even torn out completely. Feeling the tears return, I looked away, slammed the pages over, and hoped to see a blank page.

My wishes were granted, as a clean, fresh white page was before me. I re-opened my rucksack, opened my box of pencils, and removed one from the box. I began to gently make contact between the pencil and the paper.

I've never really thought about what I draw. The only reason I keep my eyes open while drawing is to make sure nothing stupid happens, such as I try drawing a head, then put the ear in the middle of the forehead. I don't pay attention to what I draw or anything—I just let my hands work their magic. Drawing was always a time for me to think. Not that I always did, such as this time.

When I was about ¾ of the way done with my drawing, I decided to see what magical thing my hands were creating. I focused suddenly on the image, and saw something odd before my eyes—a sad looking Luke, then a diagonal line, and a sad looking me on the other side. Both were looking towards the line—I hadn't quite finished shading myself.

I thought about the image for a moment—what did this mean? Was something happening to me?

_I can't trust him. Him or anyone, they'll all betray me… I need to keep to myself as much as possible._

Then I remembered my promise to Luke. I had made it a little subconsciously; my mind was too focused on my previous life at the time. But I _never_ backed out on a promise to anyone. Even the ones that I had made to my betrayers—I never told any of their secrets, never said one lie to or about them.

And this meant I couldn't back out on this promise, either.

_Darn it._

I closed the sketchbook and placed it and the pencils back in my rucksack before laying against the tree branch. I closed my eyes for awhile, feeling the breeze, listening to the world around me. When they opened again, I started at the sky for awhile, watching the clouds go by.

_Almost Fall. That means I'm going to have to flip out on my fields again. Lovely._

I stretched, then began climbing my way down. About half way down the tree, I noticed Luke staring at me from the entrance to Ganache mines. "What are you doing over there?" I called, fairly displeased.

Luke shook his head, as if I'd awoken him from a daydream (for all I know, I did, he kinda creeped me out sometimes…), he blushed, and replied with, "Uhh, just, uhh… going for a walk! Yes, going for a walk I am." From there he began doing this really dorky looking walk down the path.

I sighed, glanced down, and decided to jump the rest of the way down the tree. There was one spot that I knew would be a bit of a tight squeeze, but I figured I'd made it through smaller. So, off I jumped. Unfortunately, I lost my balance a little just before letting go of the tree, and fell onto what felt like every branch within my reach. When I finally hit the ground, I collapsed in a pile of messy looking, leaf-and-twig covered me.

I think I heard Luke call my name while I was falling, but I wasn't sure. But around the time I hit the ground, I definitely passed out.

* * *

**Well, that only took 2 days. And it's still short. Stupid slowness. Oh well. Feel free to review, as always, and look out for more chapters :D They should be coming faster, i wrote through like... 7 by hand, I'm going to be typing the heck out of my fingers.  
**


	5. Chapter 5: Discoveries

**Whoa, two chapters published in one day. It's my new record! Not that either one is particularly long. But hey, you know. Anyways, enjoy ^^**

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The next time I consciously awoke, I was in my bed, and could hear voices in the background. It took me a few minutes to register who they belonged to: It was Luke and Jin having a conversation about me.

"You're sure she'll wake up soon? She hasn't moved in the slightest since her fall!" Luke exclaimed.

"Yes, yes, she'll be fine. She should come to in about fifteen to twenty minutes, if not sooner. When she does wake up, make sure you tell her everything I told you, alright? We don't need any further problems for her." I heard Jin reply.

I then heard the door open, someone walk out, and the door close. I assumed it was Jin. I then heard heavier footsteps move around my house.

_Yep, Luke's still here. I'm such an idiot. There goes any chance of him ever leaving me alone again._

I heard him pull a chair up beside my bed, and felt his arms press against the side of the bed. Then I felt it tremble. _Could… could he be… crying? Over __me__? But… no one would..._

That feeling was back. I pushed it aside, and decided I should check to see if he really was crying. I just slightly opened my eyes, and glanced at him. Sure enough, there were tears rolling down his face. I glanced away, and I guess made a slight motion in doing so, because he suddenly came out with "Lukai? Are you awake?"

I stared at the wall, my eyes hardly open. Out of nowhere, I saw Luke's hand reaching to the side of my face. I closed my eyes, awaiting whatever he was planning to do. He first gently stroked my face, and then slowly moved my head so he could see my face. _Lovely. Just what I didn't want __**or**__ need._

Then he rested his head beside mine. I opened my eyes slightly to see what he was doing, but he was watching me the whole time. I saw his bright yellow eyes staring straight into mine.

"I told you I'm an expert at spotting a fake sleeper." He said, smirking. I shoved him off the bed with my arm. He laughed a bit, then stood up, suddenly looking serious. Well, more a cross between serious and worried.

"Are you OK? You took a pretty hard fall yesterday."

That got me sitting straight up. "Yesterday? What exactly happened to me?"

"Calm down, calm down," Luke started, gently grabbing my shoulders and pushing me back against my pillows. But I was anything but calm. "As far as I saw, you fell out of the tree and hit your head on a couple branches. I'd assume that's what knocked you out. You were scratched up pretty badly too, and Jin says you've got a broken leg."

What? I said, slightly shocked. I sat up again, staring, horrified, and the other end of the room. "My crops… my animals… How am I going to care for my animals?" I shouted, falling back on my bed.

"Don't worry, Anissa's going to start teaching me to care for your crops for you, and Renee's been showing me how to care for your animals. They'll be fine."

I shot him a look. "I'm not so sure I want my animals in _your_ hands..." I said, jokingly. "You'll probably mistake my horse for a tree and try to cut it down."

Luke smirked again. "Nah, don't worry, my dad said I shouldn't chop anything while I'm helping you so I don't get overworked, so your horse is safe."

"As long as you keep you ax far away from my things and don't kill anything or get them sick, I'm fine with it."

I then realized I didn't have my rucksack on me. I started to worry about the sketchbook.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked, showing I obviously changed my expression. "My rucksack… where is it?" I asked.

"Over on the table" Luke replied, pointing to it.

"Grab it for me." I commanded. Luke walked to the table, grabbed my rucksack, and brought it back. I snatched it from him, opened it up, and looked frantically around the inside. At last I saw the black binding. I grabbed the sketchbook and examined the outside, sighing with relief when I found no damage had come to it. I then grabbed my box of pencils, which had opened, but other than three pencils falling out, there was no damage there either.

"What's that?" Luke asked, pointing to my sketchbook, which I had set aside to inspect my pencil box. I glanced up, continued my inspection, and mumbled, "Nothing much, just my sketchbook."

"Can I look at it?" he asked.

I stopped what I was doing, trying to think if there was anything I didn't want him to see. Unable to think of any, I nodded, and picked up the examination.

He looked through it, looking slightly confused at my "madness section", but seemed to understand. Then he came to a page, stopped, and stared at in. That's when I realized what he was looking at.

The drawing from just before I fell out of the tree.

I facepalmed, and Luke came out with, "So… what… what is this? I mean, like… what does it mean?"

I sighed, put down the box and rucksack, and thought for a moment. "I'm not sure, to be perfectly honest with you. I don't usually try to draw anything in particular, my hands just do their own thing without my focus. I was trying to figure that out when I noticed you yesterday…" I trailed off.

Luke stared at me, confused. "Are you sure that's what this is?" he asked.

"I told you, I don't know what it means."

"I mean are you sure that's how it went."

I nodded, and looked out the window. Conversations like this were never my specialty, and the fact that I hardly ever spoke to anyone anymore worsened my ability. I just wanted to be alone, but seeing that I was fairly immobile, I couldn't shove Luke out of my house, or leave to go somewhere to myself.

I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Both of which were huge.

Luckily, Luke let it be there, and sat down at the table, twiddling his thumbs. We stayed like that for a good hour or two.

"You have gotten Renee to help you with the animals today, right?" Luke nodded, and replied with, "They're out grazing now."

I nodded approvingly, and responded with, "You should probably take them in soon."

* * *

**Well, thar you go. I'm planning to type chapter 6 tomorrow after school sometime, and then finish writing chapter 7, so hopefully everything I've got will be up soon. Keep your eyes peeled for me!**


	6. Chapter 6: Hardships

**Gak, forgot to edit the document before publishing X_X Oh well. Sorry about the excessively long wait, I got out of the writing mood, then went to Europe for a month without constant computer access, and... yeah.**

* * *

Days later, things still hadn't returned to normal. In any way. I hadn't yet figured out that drawing, so things were still awkward between Luke and I. I now had a pair of crutches that Bo made for me (Luke had asked him to, since he was too busy caring for me and my farm), so now I could move around. Not very quickly, but I was mobile.

Jin had visited every day to check on my leg, which he said was healing well—not that it felt like it was. If I was in bed and moved either leg just slightly, a burning pain shot up my body*. If I was using my crutches, the same happened every pace I made, though it numbed a bit after awhile.

I was outside one day, leaning against the very tree I had fallen out of, crutches under my arms, watching Luke care for the animals. He'd definitely improved—according to Renee, the first time he tried to milk my cows, he tried using the milker backwards, and Anissa said he almost didn't plant my crops in rows to make level 1 watering easier.

As I watched, Luke managed to get himself a shining milk. A grin grew on his face, and he turned towards me, calling my name. I gave him a thumbs-up, and he trotted over to me. "Do you want me to keep this or no…? I mean, it is shining, you never told me what to do with shining anything…"

"Yeah, ship it. Perfect milk I keep since it tastes good, same with perfect anything else, but shining brings in more money." I said. He nodded, ran to the shipping bin, then back to the animals.

_He's just like a little kid sometimes…_

That night, after Luke had set up his sleeping bag (he'd been spending the night at my house since I fell "in case I needed anything"), I was in bed reading, and he was sitting on the floor, staring into space.

After about a half an hour, he finally said something. "Hey Lukai?"

"Hmm?" I responded, my eyes not leaving my book.

"Remember that promise you made me at the firefly festival?"

"Yes."

"Have you been going through with it?"

"Haven't you noticed?" I looked down at him. He stared back, looking a little confused, and shook his head.

"You'd never have gotten into my house for more than the first day or so after my fall, I'd have kicked you out. So that much at least gives you the option to ask. I'm not much of one for starting conversation, if you haven't already noticed." I finished my statement there, and returned to my book. Luke was silent at that point. I shrugged him off, focusing more on my book.

But my focus didn't last.

I kept thinking about him. He wouldn't leave my mind. I put my book on my table/desk/thing, and tried to go to sleep, but he was there too.

After a good two hours of that, long after Luke had fallen asleep, I suddenly felt the need to be absolutely alone. I grabbed my crutches from their spot on the wall, and, wincing at every movement, I quietly snuck past Luke and reached the door.

Closing said door was a bit of an issue. First, I dropped one of my crutches, which not only made me lose balance, but the crash nearly woke Luke. Then I tried closing the door with my shoulder, but it slammed. I bent down and grabbed my crutch as quickly as possible, and started off to Brownie Ranch.

I had a long way ahead of me.

**Luke's POV**

I woke up when I heard something fall outside. I figured a tree branch had probably fallen and hit the roof or porch or something, shrugged it off, and tried to go back to sleep.

But then the door slammed, and I heard someone going down the trail. That one got me up.

_Someone came… someone came and stole something of Lukai's! _I thought at first.

I got up, and looked around her house—nothing unchanged. I sighed with relief, then glanced at the wall where Lukai's crutches were. They were gone. Horror came over me again as I looked at her bed—someone must have come, kidnapped her, she grabbed her crutches out of desperation, and she hit something outside to let me know!

I dashed outside, looking for any sign of where they went—I found nothing. I figured that if it was someone from anywhere off Waffle Island, they'd probably have a boat at some beach. I checked all the accessible beaches—In Caramel River District and Waffle town. No sign of any random boats, and nothing had changed over at the docks.

From there, I decided it must have been someone from Waffle Island. I checked everywhere, but there was no sign of anything, and I was not about to wake everyone up.

A few hours later, I finally decided to check Brownie Ranch, though I didn't think I'd find her there. I checked all over, finding nothing. Then I looked under Alan's tree. There she was, perfectly fine, not looking as though any horrifying ordeal had just occurred. She was just staring at the stars.

I started running to her, but stopped, thinking of a better approach.

**Lukai's POV**

After what seemed like years, I had finally reached Brownie Ranch. I heaved myself up to Alan's tree. When I finally got there, I collapsed below it, my hand gently massaging my leg. Then I leaned against the tree, and watched the stars.

Luke… why was he on my mind so much? He was annoying at best, but yet… something told me I could trust him, even though I knew for sure that I couldn't.

_Why me? Why can't I just be the normal type without masses of drama and confusion in my life? _I thought, closing my eyes. I reopened them, and went back to the stars.

"Beautiful night tonight, isn't it Lukai?" I heard from behind me.

_Oh no… why? I wanted to be alone, why in the world did Luke have to show up now?_

I closed my eyes again and bowed my head, hiding my face behind my arms, which were around my good leg.

I heard him sit beside me. We were both silent for awhile. Then came the question: "Lukai, are you OK?"

I turned to Luke, confused. "What do you mean by _that_?" I asked him.

"Well, you've seemed a bit more off than usual recently… I was wondering if y—"

"So I always seem 'off' to you, huh? What else do you want to tell me, that I'm the stupidest little baby you ever laid eyes on? That all I ever do is go on about myself? I knew none of you people could be trusted!" I screamed, partially at Luke, partially to the sky. I got up to run, forgetting about my leg, and ended up rolling down the hill in a heap. I was face-down on the ground, crying by the time Luke got to me.

"Are you OK? Did yo-"

"Stop asking that stupid question already! Just leave me alone!" I sobbed into the grass. I faintly heard him sigh, then, more gently, say, "I meant your leg. I was asking if your leg was OK, and if you'd hurt yourself any more."

I didn't reply, just continued crying into the ground. "Alright, come on, the sun's coming up" he said soothingly, starting to push me onto my back.

I wiped away my tears, nodded, and accepted him picking me up. I put my arms around his neck to steady the two of us, and he started walking back to my ranch.

I leaned into his chest as he walked.

_Why do I feel so secure? He just insulted me, and… and…_

I felt the tears returning, and quickly changed my focus. My leg. It wasn't hurting any more than it had been while I was below the tree, but maybe the journey's pain had masked something new. I hoped it hadn't.

When we got back to my ranch, Luke quickly lay me on my bed, and ran outside to tend to my animals and crops. I was finally alone with my thoughts, but I was too tired to think. I lay upon my bed, exhausted, and allowed my eyes to close.

* * *

**There you are! Again, sorry it took so long ^^'**

***never broken a bone, don't know how accurate the description is**


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